Jide Oyekunle, Samuel Ogidan, Innocent Oweh, Juliet Oyoyo and Ojo Oyewamide
Abuja / Kaduna / Akure –Â AÂ gain, five members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were reportedly shot dead by the Nigeria police in Abuja on Tuesday.
The group said over 300 of its members were still missing.
The protesters finally gained access to the city by boarding commercial vehicles instead of trekking, to beat security operatives who had laid ambush at the three major entry points into Abuja.
Tuesdayâ€
s protest was to end the mass protest tagged, ‘Arbaeen Symbolic Trek†and was scheduled to be terminated at the Unity Fountain, near Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
But security operatives realised that the mob had succeeded in gaining entry into the city and swiftly moved in, forming a barricade along the road and engaging the sect on their way to the Unity Fountain.
The protesters, who also engaged the police in a hide and seek game, decided to follow Ademola Adetokunbo Way to outplay the stern looking policemen.
The situation forced the security operatives to request for reinforcement as more policemen and soldiers were deployed there, leaving the protesters with no option than to face the battalion near Abia House.
The police fired several teargas canisters to dislodge them but the measure had little or no impact as members of the group rolled out stones which had been concealed in their bags and pelted the police in retaliation.
The police were said to have resorted to firing live ammunition and shooting sporadically at protesters at a close range.
Many people were said to have lost their lives, many others allegedly sustained gunshot injuries, while many were arrested.
Also, a patrol vehicle of the police was set ablaze by the protesters in retaliation and was burnt beyond recognition.
The police chased the mob from Central Area to Wuse Zone 4, firing teargas canisters.
Spokesperson of the group, Abdullahi Muhammadu Musa, who had a chat with Daily Independent on the incident, said the group was able to recover only one dead body, adding that many corpses were taken away by the police.
He stated that over 300 members of the group were still missing.
He asked the police to release the four bodies which were taken away during the mayhem to them and warned the police against conducting mass burial for their members.
He put the total number of those that were killed since the beginning of the protest at 47.Â
“They killed 6 members on Saturday and killed 36 on Monday, and 5 people lost their lives today, Tuesday,� he said Musa.
Musa said the killing of their members would not discourage them, but that it would give them the audacity to continue to challenge the government on its record of injustice and oppression.
He added: “They are trying to instill fear in us with this killing so that we will stop challenging the government, but they have failed and we are not going to stop.
“This has shown that this government is intolerant of whoever that challenges its oppression, but I can tell you that they are coming after other Nigerians.�
He said the protest on Tuesday marked the end of the ‘Arbaeen Symbolic Trek†but that the group would always continue with the daily protest until the government released their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
Meanwhile, police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said 400 members of IMN, also known as Shiâ€ites, had been arrested in connection with Tuesdayâ€s violent protest in the territory.
Commissioner of Police in the area, Bala Ciroma, stated this when he presented the suspects to the media at the commandâ€s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that the suspects had been detained for discreet investigation, adding that dangerous weapons were also recovered from them.
He said that the police recovered 31 bottles of petrol bombs and other dangerous weapons brought in the territory by the suspects.
Ciroma said that among the suspects was their ‘First Aiderâ€, one Salahuddeen Ahmad, male, 23, who hails from Illela Local Government of Sokoto State.
He said that all the suspects would be arraigned upon conclusion of investigation.
The commissioner said that arrest of the sect members was part of the continuous efforts of the command to provide residents of the territory with adequate security, protect lives and property and prevent breakdown of law and order.
He stated that the command intercepted and arrested some members of “the EL-Zakzakky Islamic Movement of Nigeria with 31 bottles of petrol bomb and other dangerous weapons being ferried into FCT by their members.
“It is for the purpose of causing mayhem and attack on innocent citizens, including law enforcement agents deployed to protect lives and property.�
According to him, members of the group without provocation of any sort went on rampage during a protest and burnt down a police vehicle.
He said that the incident occurred on Tuesday and that the sect burnt a Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) patrol vehicle deployed at Ademola Adetokumbo Crescent.
Ciroma explained that about 12.30p.m., operatives on stop-and-search duty along Tipper Garage area, intercepted and arrested one Mustapha Abdullahi, male, 20, of Ungwan Gwari, Suleja, with 18 bottles of petrol bombs concealed in a traveling bag.
“To smuggle himself and the patrol bombs into the city, he disguised as a passenger and boarded a taxi with other unsuspecting passengers,� he said.
PDP Urges NASS To Probe Growing Tension, Extra-Judicial Killings
Meanwhile, after the alleged killing of Shiite members by security operatives, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday expressed concern over the mounting tension, escalating public restiveness, violence, and rising cases of extra-judicial killings in the country under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
Recall that on Monday, about 16 Shiites, who were on a peaceful protest, were allegedly killed by security operatives in Abuja.
The PDP, in a statement by its Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the frightening situation in the country was precipitated by a series of divisive and undemocratic actions and statements of the Buhari administration, coupled with its official high-handedness, blatant refusal to obey court orders, and open disregard for the constitutional rights of citizens.
Rejecting the tendency to unleash state apparatus of power against citizens at the slightest provocation, the party said that such actions resulted in bloodletting and extra-judicial killings that were never investigated despite the usual vows of bringing perpetrators to book.
The PDP said it believed that the life of every Nigerian was sacred and deserved respect as provided for in the 1999 constitution (as amended).
The party, therefore, called on the National Assembly and relevant international bodies to take a judicious look into the situation in the country today, adding, “Our legislators must, therefore, immediately open a system-wide investigation into all violations leading to loss of lives and property in our nation.�
Afenifere Demands El-Zakzakyâ€s Release
Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, on Tuesday demanded the release of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) spiritual leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
It also suspended Iyiola Omisore, the Social Democratic Partyâ€s (SDP) candidate in the last Osun State governorship election, from the group for a year.
Pa. Reuben Fasonranti, the Afenifere leader announced the suspension of the SDP governorship candidate.
“The meeting took the decision to suspend Omisore for one year for violating Afenifere directive which affected the outcome of Osun elections,� he said.
Fasoranti said Omisoreâ€s action caused embarrassment for the group with the belief in some quarters that it compromised its integrity and principles in exchange for personal gains because of the SDP candidate.
Omisore directed his supporters to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, in the Osun State supplementary gubernatorial election.
The group condemned the killings and use of force against the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria by combined forces of the police and soldiers in Abuja over their protest against the continued detention of their leader.
Afenifere wondered why El-Zakzaky had not been released despite different court orders.
It demanded that all the security operatives involved in the killings of the Shiite members should be brought to book.
Reading the groupâ€s communique at the end of its meeting in Akure, Ondo State capital, the Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee, Chief Korede Duyile, said: “The meeting condemned the extreme and barbaric use of force against members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja in the past few days coming to head with killings of unidentified members of the sect yesterday by a combined team of police and soldiers in the Federal Capital.
“There can be no justification for the level of blood-letting that has been carried out against the sect whose only crime has been protesting the continued detention of their leader in spite of different court orders to release him from detention.
“The act of disobedience of court orders is totally reprehensible and confirms the statement by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria that perversion of institutions, which abuse of court orders typifies, is the worst form of corruption.
“Meeting therefore called on the Federal Government to release the leader of the Shiites as ordered by different courts and ensure that the security personnel responsible for the mass killings of his supporters are brought to book.
“We must not forget how extra-judicial killing of the founder of Boko Haram turned the group into a massive terror machine which we have been unable to contain and we are opening yet another front�.
Afenifere also noted the controversy surrounding the academic qualifications of President Muhammadu Buhari for the office of the nationâ€s president, warning the president not to submit another affidavit to the INEC.
“We believe that this controversy touches at the core of the moral fibre of our country not necessarily because the president may not be qualified to contest based on the ridiculous provisions of the Abacha-made constitution of Nigeria which makes leadership the only job for which serious preparation is not required but because a good standard is not set for the society and especially our young people by the following unfortunate developments.�
FG Vows To Punish Perpetrators Of Kaduna Killings
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Kaduna vowed that the Federal Government will punish perpetrators of the latest killings in Kaduna State.
Buhari also indirectly condemned the international community for allegedly feigning ignorance over the wanton killings and destruction of property in Kasuwan Magani, a local community in Kaduna.
The president paid a consolation visit to the state on Tuesday and lamented the death of over 75 persons through violence.
He said the tragedy ought to have attracted the same attention as that of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, recently.
Buhari, who condemned the perpetrators of the violence in the state, accused them of pushing the country into irrelevance before the global community.
Making allusion to the recent killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the president said “while the whole world has been forced to watch and listen to what is happening, the situation in Kaduna has not attracted any attention.�
He continued: “I observed that more than 75 people were killed in Kaduna alone and I havenâ€t seen anything about it.
“It means we are pushing ourselves as a nation and a people towards irrelevance, seen by the world itself.�
While having a meeting with senior government officials, security chiefs, traditional rulers, religious, political, and community leaders at the Musa Yarâ€Adua Sports Complex, Kaduna, the president said the Federal Government would take the strongest measures possible to punish perpetrators of the latest killings in the state.
According to him, all the stakeholders residing in Kaduna must make conscious effort to put an end to the tragic loss of lives and property in the state.
“If in the past, they got away scot-free, we shall now hold everyone to account for these latest killings.
“It is unacceptable that criminal elements can visit on citizens the wanton killings recorded in the Kasuwan Magani incident of 18th October, 2018 and the unrest around Kaduna metropolis a few days later. This must stop,� the president said.
The president, however, directed the Nigeria police to remain vigilant in securing communities and diligent in prosecuting criminal offences.
“The Nigerian police are in the frontline of securing communities. For the judiciary, unless the investigations are credible and rapidly done, there is nothing they can do.
“From now on the Nigeria police, you better watch it, I am going to watch you closely,� the president said.
He equally appealed to community leaders, including ward heads, village heads, and traditional rulers to be closer to their people and not to shield those who are planning to wreak havoc on the community from law enforcement agencies.
Commiserating with the government and people of Kaduna State and families who lost loved ones in the unfortunate incidents, the president paid tribute to the late Agom Adara, Dr. Maiwada Galadima, eulogising the traditional ruler of Adara chiefdom for serving his community and Kaduna State with dedication.
The president appealed to all who call Kaduna home to do their best to uphold peace in their respective communities, warning that chaos and anarchy tend to worsen and exacerbate whatever issues are agitating a community.
“Violence shatters and divides people and stifles the prospect of any community that succumbs to its tragic logic.
“The Federal Government commends the efforts of the Kaduna State government in responding to and managing the crisis.
“More federal security assets are being provided at the request of the Kaduna State government to help uphold and keep the peace.
“The Federal Government will continue to work to ensure that more security assets are recruited and deployed across the country to protect all citizens going about their lawful business and to reinforce the authority of the government,� he said.
Buhari also welcomed the decision of the Kaduna State government and its local governments to build and provide facilities for the take-off of more police divisions and civil defence offices in the state.
“On their part, citizens also have a duty to be law-abiding in their conduct and within their communities. There is a need to avoid violence as a tool of negotiation or obtaining advantage, and learn to listen to each other and commit to resolving differences through peaceful means.
“Kaduna, once the home of the premier and home of the New Nigerian, must not earn itself a new name – home of violence.
“The federal security agencies will hunt and prosecute all those who sponsored these acts of violence,� he said.
The post Another Five Killed As Police, Shiites Clash, 400 Arrested appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Another Five Killed As Police, Shiites Clash, 400 Arrested
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